Duff McKagan Shares Touring Travel Tips for Musicians

Duff McKagan's number one piece of advice for staying sane on the road has to do with going Number Two.

We all know by now what can happen when a person drops a particularly hefty deuce on the tour bus, but as the former Guns N' Roses bassist points out in the above video interview with Rolling Stone, you've got to be careful with where you move your bowels even if you aren't on the go — there are also rules of etiquette that it's important to observe when you're cohabitating in a hotel room.

"Don't poo in the room if you're sharing it," cautions McKagan. "Unless you get poo permission, like, 'Oh yeah, it's cool dude. I don't care.' Then you know you're really close with that guy."

But when you are on that tour bus, it makes sense to while away the hours by taking in the local color — which can be more fun if you take the time to learn about the areas where you'll be traveling. "If you don't read, know something about where you're at," continues McKagan. "Barrett Martin, who was the drummer for Screaming Trees and Mad Season — he's an actual professor. So he'll know about everything we're going by, like, 'That castle there ... something, something.'"

Whatever you end up doing between gigs, McKagan has learned the hard way that the novelty of the road will eventually wear off — even if you're in Germany, where the word for "highway exit," ausfahrt, is good for a little free entertainment. "You can laugh at the first six or seven Ausfahrt signs, but there is going to be an Ausfahrt sign every exit. You can only do it for so long."